Of Croutons and Banana Bread

My newest homemade creation is croutons. I had some boxed organic french onion soup, but couldn't bare the thought of putting commercial croutons on it. And, after making croutons, I can not imagine ever buying them again! So easy, and so delish! Here's the quick (and variable if you don't like one of the ingredients, feel free to change) recipe:
Bread (any will work, although thicker, heartier breads are better for soups so they don't soften up too fast)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Parsley

Cube the bread. Toss in a bowl with olive oil until lightly coated. Sprinkle with garlic, onion and parsley and toss to coat. Put on baking sheet at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool, enjoy!

Since we had some very ripe bananas, and my friend Susan just gave me a new banana bread recipe (and since it was a cold, rainy day), I decided it had to be banana bread time! Here's the recipe, it turned out fabulously!
Ingredients:
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
* 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
* 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used a lot more than this, because I love cinnamon!)
* 2 slightly beaten egg whites
* 1 c. mashed ripe bananas (3 medium or 2 large)
* 1/2 c. honey
* 1/4 c. coconut oil
* A pinch of sea salt (1/16 tsp.)

Directions:
1. Coat an 8×4x2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Mash bananas and set aside. In a medium bowl combine whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine egg whites, banana, agave nectar, and oil. Once mixed well, add flour mixture all at one time to banana mixture. Stir until moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Spoon mixture into pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 50 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick near the center of the bread. The toothpick should come out clean.
4. Cool in pan on a wire rack for approximately 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Soap Update

Thanks to my sis for offering some advice in a comment regarding shampoo soaps. Yes, your hair will be more oily because it is accustomed to making MORE to make up for the oils that the traditional shampoos were stripping from your hair. I have noticed that mine is more oily, but I am able to get away with little (or in today's case no) gel, and your hair will end up making less oils once it adjusts. Also, a friend let me know about another site she uses frequently for homemade safe products, Lush. I haven't tried any of their products yet, but it looks like they have quite a varied selection to choose from!

Soaps

Well, I decided that it was time to take some further steps in my path of eating and living cleanly. I have been reading more and more about the chemicals in our soaps and shampoos and knew something needed to change. This site is an amazing database that will help you determine the safety of your current cosmetics. Thankfully, my wonderful sister told me about "hair soaps". They are bars of soap that you use to clean your hair. She bought some from Sweet Creek Herbs and mailed them to me (the lady that makes them threw in a free face/body bar as well for free!). I started with the Rosemary and Honey bar and I love it! There is definitely a different feel to my skin and hair, but I feel clean and my hair definitely has more body and lift (which doesn't happen too easily for my fine hair) and is allowing me to use less hair gel (bonus!). 

 

I have been able to gradually switch over our dish soaps, laundry detergent, dryer sheets and general household cleaners to a green/all natural alternative. As my face wash and make-ups wear out, I will be replacing with chemical-free versions! One thing I have found key is to not beat myself up for those things that I have not yet changed, but be happy with the changes I have made and strive to keep adding new changes regularly!

The Green Room

I wanted to share one of the local, organic restaurants with you. The Green Room is located in downtown Carlisle. My husband and I visited for my birthday dinner date. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures, but theWasabi Dusted Diver Scallop Salad with Orange-Bee Pollen Viaigrette is currently shown on their homepage as one of the specials. The dressing was very light and gave a nice zing to the salad. The scallops were phenomenal and very large (but not chewy). We also ordered a local cheese plate as an appetizer that came with whole wheat pita triangles. My husband ordered a grass-fed local beef burger on a delicious looking whole wheat bun with seeds and restaurant-made potato chips.

My favorite surprise for the night though was the flowering tea. You can see a sample here. Instead of the tea seeping in a bag, the leaves are bundled into a tight bud that slowly opens as the hot water penetrates the bud in the teapot. The result is a blooming flower (although it reminded me more of a sea anemone) and is just plain fun to watch!

For desserts, they are all freshly made sorbets, ice creams and pastries. I decided to try a toasted almond sorbet which was delicious, and full of chopped almonds! My husband ordered mint chocolate chip ice cream which was just as good.

The restaurant was very full and we were glad to have made reservations ahead of time, which can be done online or by phone. The chef came and checked in with each table throughout the night as well. I definitely plan to repeat this restaurant. Next on the list to try is The Cellar in Camp Hill.

Happy Birthday to Me!

A big "Thank you!" to my friend, Susan, for providing me with a healthy, organic carrot cake recipe just in time for my birthday! I was only a week overdue in having the time to make it, but very glad I did! The new ingredients for me were coconut oil (replaces shortening) and apple juice concentrate. No sugar at all in this recipe! Well, except for the icing made w/ organic cream cheese, organic powdered sugar and some vanilla (didn't have organic on hand yet). I have to say I wasn't wowed when I tried it right after eating it, but today it was delicious- much better once it had time to get nice and cold! Definitely a recipe to repeat, although shredding the carrots is time-consuming!
Here are some pics of the finished product:

The Beach and Planet X

Well, I just returned from a trip to Rehoboth Beach with my daughter and sister. This trip presented new challenges for me, as I wanted to maintain my all natural, organic eating as much as possible since it was still fairly new for me (and I didn't want to fall off the wagon, if you know what I mean). So, we decided we would only eat out one meal. For the others, we took Kashi cereal for breakfast. For lunch I roasted a whole all natural cage free chicken and we had chicken sandwiches with a variety of veggies, fruits, and healthy snacks. For 2 of our dinners I made and froze lasagna. These meals worked out well and we didn't seem to tire of having multiples of the same meal (even with all of the other delicious smells from various restaurants).

Thankfully, for our one meal out I was able to find The Planet X Cafe which was located just 1/2 a block from our hotel, The Atlantis Inn. As soon as we saw the outside of the restaurant, we were excited to eat there. It was in an eclectically decorated house with outdoor seating on the porch and indoor seating as well. Planet X specializes in using local, organic, and natural ingredients. The menu definitely had some unique dishes and we had a hard time deciding which ones to try! We decided to try one of each type of dish (Salads/Small Plates, Zen Bowls, Entrées) and share all three (since it was too hard to choose just one!) Here's what we ended up with:

 

 This is a Smoked Wild Salmon Quesadilla. Absolutely delish! The feta cheese on the lettuce/chard/grape salad was the best I've ever had (and prompted me to buy some this weekend). The pink sauce on the side is chili creme fraiche (no, I don't know what that means) but it is spicy, and good! The salsa was not spicy, but again, very delicious. 

We chose the Sesame Orange Beef Tips and Scallops for our Zen Bowl. Again, very good, especially the scallops!

Our last dish (although we are from all 3 at the same time) was an Entree, Jumbo Shrimp Red Thai Curry. This was very peppy, and I was glad to have 2 other dishes to work on at the same time to cool down my mouth, but again, it was of high quality!

The desserts were not on the menu and when we asked, there were 3 options: cheesecake, key lime pie or chocolate torte. If you know me, you know what I wanted- chocolate! Especially since I haven't been eating many sweets at all lately (and strangely enough, not really missing them!). This was the best dessert I have ever had in my life, and I've had some pretty good desserts! I found a few recipes online and if/when I get one to work, I will definitely post about it!

The torte is flourless with fresh whipped cream and mint. Phenomenal! And best of all, satisfying even though I only ate 1/3 of it (if even that much- my sis and daughter liked it a lot, too!).

If you ever get to Rehoboth, stopping here is a must. It is on the higher end regarding price, but you definitely get your money's worth, and don't skip dessert! (I almost never eat dessert out, but will never miss it here!)

And yes, believe it or not I was able to resist all other sweets and treats at the beach. I only took one sample bite of caramel corn and pb ice cream. To be honest, I didn't even really want it, knowing now where it comes from (and what it is doing to my body- I read Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels while there, she deserves a whole post of her own later!).

I also did not eat after 9 and tried to steer clear of carbs before bed. I also did not exercise other than walking to and from various places...and I lost 3 pounds! For a total of 9 in the last month since eating naturally. As an aside, we had our family reunion yesterday with a potluck lunch. I didn't not eat as much as I normally would have but still felt stuffed, and partly sick for the rest of the day. It is amazing how quickly my body has adjusted to eating natural, and it likes it and wants nothing else!

Red Dye Origins

Wow- did not know this: that the red dye 40 actually comes from crushed Mexican beetle! Please sign the petition to make labeling more explicit so that consumers know what "artificial coloring" actually means!